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Life Works Community
Life Works is a community design based on local, sustainable resources. The purpose of this vision is to experience, demonstrate, and educate on a way of life that has minimal destructive impact on the Earth and humanity and uses little or no fossil fuels in daily production. The design includes a farm, school, grocery, general and specialty stores, businesses, arts and entertainment, health and death care, community college, and retirement care to name just a few. Many ideas in this document are original, but some are based on the work of others. A main source of inspiration for Life Works is Hawthorne Valley Farm. A key element in the success of the Hawthorne Valley Farm design is utilizing the benefits that come with non-profit status. Access to tax exemptions, grants and low interest loans make the probability of success more likely. Non-profit does not mean no profit. Goods are priced to provide fair and comfortable wages for all participants. The farm is the foundation of any locally sustainable community. Collectively the land, plants, animals, and people can be regarded as a living entity. Each element of the farm must be healthy to support the overall health of the farm entity. There is an ideal size that can optimally managed and supported for any entity. Unlimited growth is not desirable or sustainable. When growth is necessary beyond the optimal size, a new community must be developed. This document attempts to describe a vision of a mature community encompassing everything that would be needed to live comfortably in a society based on renewable energy sources. It is understood that the first endeavor shall be the farm. All other endeavors should only be commenced at the appropriate time and to the degree that they support and enhance the farm. Things have been intentionally included here that may seem extravagant or unnecessary to some. This has been done as a placeholder for further study, but also to initiate discussion and debate. Living responsibly and sustainably doesn't necessarily means living uncomfortably. Sustainability though, by its very definition, must be the most important consideration for any species that hopes to endure. __TOC__ Organic Farm Italicized excerpted from Hawthorne Valley Farm Hawthorne Valley Farm is a modern, diversified, Biodynamic farm. Our farm spans over 400 acres of woodlands and mountains, open fields and meadows, and flowing creeks and streams. At the heart of the farm is the closed herd of 60 cows which, to a large degree, provides the pulse for and rhythm of the adjunct operations. The cows furnish the milk for our dairy operation; prescribe, to some extent, the cover and feed crops grown to nourish them and the horses, pigs, and laying hens; and provide, along with the other farm animals, the basis of our compost, which is essential for building the soil fertility to ensure that the cycle is continuous. Throughout the year our cows are free to move around outdoors. From April through October, they are rotationally grazed on over 200 acres of pasture, coming into the barn only for their two daily milkings. Even in the winter, the cows enjoy being outdoors except when the weather is unquestionably prohibitive. The exercise and exposure to fresh air and sunlight offer countless health benefits to the animals. No hormones or antibiotics are used in their feed, and the milk and dairy products from the herd are certified by the Demeter Association as meeting its Biodynamic and organic standards. Our high-quality organic and Biodynamic feeds result in premium meats, eggs, and milk products that find a market locally and at various off-site locations. Again, all these goods are certified as Biodynamic and organic. The Farm's land is essentially covered by vegetation to keep erosion to a minimum. On our extensive cropland we grow mixed grasses, alfalfa, clover, and native perennial pasture crops for either grazing the animals or for harvesting as winter fodder. Each growing season we prepare about ten acres of land for our Market Garden. This large plot provides the more than 40 varieties of vegetables for our Community Supported Agriculture program, the Green Market, and our Farm Store, as well as some of the base products for our line of lacto-fermented vegetables. Hawthorne Valley has an active apprenticeship program. We invite up to four young people each year to join us in learning the agricultural skills required to run a farm. In addition, we welcome children between the ages of 8-15 years to spend anywhere from one week to one month working with us through our Visiting Students Program. Biodynamic Farming Biodynamic farming marries a philosophy of life with the practices of sustainable, organic farming, the goal being to bring health to the earth and to all living things. Ideally, the Biodynamic farm is a self-sufficient and self-contained ecosystem that can fulfill its needs from within. Using composts that are enriched with herbal tonics, soil fertility is enhanced; homeopathic treatments are applied to fields in order to make them more healthy; crop rotation is practiced so as not to deplete the soil, to give it a chance to recover, and to minimize pests; and no synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, or hormones are used on Biodynamic farms. Going beyond these sound, organic farming practices, Biodynamic farms understand there is a relationship with Nature that must be recognized and honored. There are life-giving forces in the plants, animals, and in the soil itself, and the farmer needs to cooperate with and embrace these. And not only does the Biodynamic farmer work with the Earth, he or she tries to work in harmony with the stars, moon, and other planets and appreciates that these have a bearing on the growth forces within the plants. This awareness imbues the day-to-day rhythms of the farm and farmer. CSA Italicized excerpted from CSA Center CSA is a relationship of mutual support and commitment between local farmers and community members who pay the farmer an annual membership fee to cover the production costs of the farm. In turn, members receive a weekly share of the harvest during the local growing season. The arrangement guarantees the farmer financial support and enables many small- to moderate-scale organic family farms to remain in business. Ultimately, CSA creates "agriculture-supported communities" where members receive a wide variety of foods harvested at their peak of ripeness, flavor and vitamin and mineral content. Green Market In addition to the CSA, a portion of Life Works produce, meat, and eggs should be stocked fresh in the on-site grocery and deli, and used in the seasonal Life Works restaurant. Any surplus should be sold at local farmers markets and restaurants. Meats All animals should be raised in conditions which allow them to express their animal-ness unique to the species. This means, for example, that chickens are allowed to scratch and peck and cows are allowed to graze and ruminate. See the Sustainable Farming Connection. Italicized excerpted from NOFA Mass …a farmer must know how to balance his or her farm. To him it is not the size of a farm that matters, but rather the farmer's ability to balance the ecology of the farm, making all systems work together. Joel (Salatin)could easily find more customers to buy his eggs, but increasing his hen population would throw off the careful planning of the farm; more chickens would create more manure and to balance the manure would require producing more hay, increasing the need for labor on the farm. On-farm sales and selling to area restaurants account for 60% of Joel's farm's income. Buying clubs and farmers markets make up most of the rest of their income. However, going local has a meaning beyond the final sale of his products. To Joel, it is important to meet needs such as processing of livestock on a local level as well. Farmers, he explains, should be able to process their livestock on the farm. Farmers may ship livestock over a hundred miles for processing, wasting energy in transportation. In addition, keeping operations down on the farm would reduce the risks of spreading disease, because animals would not co-mingle with animals from other farms. *'Beef' Livestock consume 70% of the grain grown in the United States. The other 30% is divided up between poultry, pigs, and people. In keeping with Joel's multi-purpose approach, a system of grass-fed livestock meets many goals at once. In addition to the virtue of using less land and fewer resources for growing grain, livestock feed would be part of the farmer's backyard, which would eliminate feed transportation. These backyard "perennial prairie polycultures" make for less erosion and chemical use and hold a place for native diversity in grasses and in healthy ecosystems. And as if the environmental advantages aren't enough, livestock actually can produce more milk and meat on a grass-fed diet, Joel explains. Italicized excerpted from EcoFriendly Our cattle are fed fresh pasture forage and hay exclusively. The reason we can eliminate grain from our animals' diet is simple: managed grazing, which is a sophisticated system of observing pasture growth and appropriately timing the density and duration of each grazing. In English, that translates "keep the paddocks small and move the cows a lot." The fact is, most cattle are raised in huge paddocks and moved rarely. This allows the pasture no rest period for the grass to regrow. This makes the nutrition of the grass very poor and so the cattle must be fed grain to "grow out." The theory of managed grazing is, "If you take care of your pasture, it will take care of your herd." So, by managing our grass, we can raise a healthy, fat, nutritious cow with no grain. But what's the problem with grain? Cattle are ruminants, which means they have multi-compartment digestion. They were designed to eat low-protein, high-fiber forage. Grain is high-protein, low-fiber (compared to grasses), and it is very hard on a cow’s system to digest. A grain-based diet will break down the cilia in a cow’s intestines (making it impossible to fully digest grass ever again), and raise her digestive pH level so that many strains of E. coli can thrive. Grass, on the other hand, is what cattle and other ruminants were designed to eat. Grass and cattle work symbiotically under rotational grazing: forages are stimulated, the soil is fertilized, and the cattle are fed, all without the use of chemicals, fertilizers, or equipment (except for hay equipment, of course). This reduces labor, overhead, and petroleum; i.e., it’s good business and it’s good for the environment. It’s humane, because it allows a cow to be a cow. A cow is happiest when she isn’t forced to eat like a hog, or a human, or a garbage disposal. Feeding byproducts to cattle is how BSE became the problem it is. Feeding cattle grain is how E. Coli became the problem it is. And, lastly, a cow that eats fertile, managed grass tastes much better than even choice grain-fed beef. It’s not always as tender, but it has a rich, hearty flavor that leaves you satisfied. *'Poultry' Our birds scratch for insects, forage succulent young greens and get fresh air and sunshine. They have access to a custom feed mix because they do need grains in their diet as well as plenty of fresh water. Because of all this care, our birds are stress-free and far above average in health which, in turn, provides health benefits to the consumers. The health benefits of Pastured Poultry begin with the birds. They have reduced fat and cholesterol because they are adhering to a regimen that physicians usually recommend to their patients, i.e., to eat more greens and fiber, exercise daily and reduce stress levels. Meats, eggs and poultry from grass fed animals have a better balance of health-promoting essential fatty acids, such as omega-3 and omega-6, and have more vitamin E and beta carotene. *'Eggs' Laying hens have two primary purposes: production and sanitation. Most people know about production, but sanitation is a very important part of a multi-enterprise farm. Chickens can go behind cattle on the pasture, or under rabbits in the greenhouse, or in numerous other places to aerate compost, spread manure piles out, and pick bug larvae out of the mix, which reduces flies as well as parasites and other nasty critters. The Eggmobile concept is a henhouse on wheels which follows the cattle around to clean up after them. The birds are completely free-range by day, and closed up at night in the house. This allows the house to be moved anywhere in the morning. The profitability of the Eggmobile is much more connected with cattle they sanitize after, as well as the overall pleasantness of keeping down odors and flies on the farm. *'Pork' Our pigs are raised in an environment that lets them be pigs. If you look at wild hogs in nature, you see that they are foragers, they have a great sense of smell, and they root with their strong snouts. In fact, pig and plow come from the same root word. You will never find a happier pig than one up to his shoulders in dirt piled around him, chewing on wild potatoes or other roots. I’ve seen pigs flip big rocks over with their noses, just for fun. So, our growers raise their hogs in a setting that allows them to run around and dig. Because pigs literally tear up the landscape, it’s important to use that to the advantage of the farm, not the destruction. The obvious solution is to put the pigs in a place that you want to dig up anyway. This saves the cost of the machinery and time by putting the animals to work doing something they like to do anyway. Joel Salatin developed two ways to do this. The first method is called the Pigaerator. In the section on beef, we saw how the cows build up anaerobic compost over the winter. Every week or two while the cows are in the hay shed, the farmer will spread a layer of whole corn on the bedding before covering it with carbon. As the bedding pack ferments, the corn ferments, too, turning into juicy, alcoholic sour mash morsels of delight. Most animals love fermented feed, and pigs are no exception. The cows like corn and might sniff at it, but since it’s covered with carbon and their own manure, they pretty much leave it alone. Once the cows go out for the spring, a group of lucky hogs gets access to the bedding pack. They smell that corn right away, and soon are up to their ears in compost. They will dig through three or four feet of bedding to get to the last piece of corn. All this labor costs nothing but the cost of the corn, which is partly converted into pork, anyway. There’s no benefits package for the pig employees, no on-the-job injuries, and the retirement package is: we eat them! It’s a pretty sweet deal. The pigs love it, too. They get warm, soft bedding to dig through, a roof overhead, and the best-tasting feed ever. *'Lamb' Our sheep get a diet of grass and hay exclusively, because, like cattle, they are herbivores and designed to eat grass. They are raised rotationally using electrinet. After weaning, they grow for several more weeks on their own, before being harvested at 4-6 months old. Sheep teeth are positioned so they can clip the forage very close to the ground. They will graze an area much closer than cattle will. If they’re hungry enough, they also eat some weeds that cows won’t touch. This makes rotational grazing extremely important with sheep, because leaving them too long in one spot will destroy the most palatable forages. On the other hand, by grazing an area quickly with a large group of sheep, a producer can increase fertility and set back the weedy, less palatable growth. *'Rabbit' Fruit and Nut Orchards Fresh Water Organic Seafood *Trout *Bass *Catfish *Crayfish *Tilapia *Eel *Seaweed *Snake *Alligator Greenhouses *In Ground *Above Ground Bee Keeping Animal Husbandry Wool and Cotton Seed Saving Hemp and Lumber Grocery Produce Dairy Products Groceries Health and Beauty Aids Deli Gardening Supplies Dairy Raw Milk Butter Buttermilk Yogurt Quark Cheese Ice Cream Certified Organic Bakery Yeasted and Sourdough Breads Cookies, Scones, Rolls, and Pastries Wheat-Free Breads and Cookies Grains Milled On Site Deli Restaurant General Store Cotton and wool clothing Glass/Silverware Pottery Paper Metal works Wooden toys and products Health and beauty aids Garden supplies Ice Cream Store Publishing Company Book Store Books *Life Works Manufactured / Published *Hard-to-Find *Calendars *Planners Cassette Tapes / CDs *Lectures *Music DVDs / Videos *Life Works Documentaries *Training Videos Software Library Skilled Trades Metallurgy *Iron *Steel *Copper Glass Blowing *Jars *Windows *Art Pottery *Vases *Cups *Plates Wood Working *Tools *Bowls *Plates *Toys Gym / Health Spa Gym Generates Power Aroma Therapy Color Therapy Meditation Labyrinth Bed and Breakfast Alternate Building Techniques Straw Bale Earthbag Stone Cob Adobe Bamboo Earthship Living Roof Hemp Renewable Energy Wind *Mill *Turbine Water *Mill *Generator *Catchment *Gray / Black Water Systems Solar Distiller Solar Heaters *Food Dehydrator *Clothes Dryer *Oven *Room Heater Air Flow Generator Spring House Root Cellar Geothermal Thermal Mass Cooling Tubes Sustainable Forestry Black Locust Hemp Bamboo Education Waldorf K-12 Community College Adult Ed *Sustainability **Alternative Housing *Bees *Preserving Foods Website Waste Management Compost Paper Glass Metal Recreation Pond Swimming Fishing Swimming Pool Entertainment Camphill Community Medical / Therapeutic Retirement Green Funerals / Memorial